Payroll Inc.

JBS supported a migration from a cloud-type mail service to a newer system using Microsoft Office 365 (hereafter, “Office 365”) with a new and strict security policy and strategy.

One of the largest reasons we chose a cloud-based system was in order to avoid the ever-present fear of system obsolescence that comes with any on-premise system. We felt that with a cloud service, we would be able to use the newest features available, without any unnecessary work updating or revamping the system.
Therefore, we felt that, in order to move to a service that more effectively utilizes the benefits of the cloud, that we should move from Google Apps to the Office 365 service offering.

We believed that this was the best option from its high potential as a “communication-infrastructure” tool. Office 365 is not just a mail and schedule management (Exchange Online) tool, but one that features such company-wide features on-line meetings (Lync), information sharing via SharePoint Online (hereafter, SharePoint).

This allows you to prevent private access to Office 365 from a personal user account, which would be difficult with the standard Office 365 specs alone. In other words, using a web filtering whitelist function, you will be able to prevent access to websites that are unnecessary for work, but you will not be able to prevent the use of personal, properly obtained Office 365 accounts.

For example, by linking each device with the accounts used, it may be possible to limit usage, but email support personnel make use of multiple accounts, and multiple personnel share the use of a single support email account. This makes the task of limiting device use complicated, with costs for both implementation and operation. So we searched for a way to limit the use of personal accounts that would be simpler and secure.

It was important to securely retain all of our email, which is our past assets, and JBS offers its mailbox transfer service. The transferring work could have been accomplished at the expense of company time and effort, but we had neither the time nor the human resources to spare. I felt that the work should be contracted out to an outside company, since the work would only have to be done once, and this would allow us to carry out the transition on schedule.

At the time, I looked into the possibility of contacting other vendors for Office 365 implementation support, but with our security prerequisites, I needed a service that would be able to provide more than the standard functions of Office 365, so I came to know the people at JBS.

It was the first time I had ever worked with JBS, and through a series of meetings, I witnessed their depth of experience and knowledge not only with Office 365, but with a variety of Microsoft products.

More than anything, though, I responded to JBS’s thorough understanding of our company’s needs and information, its technological superiority, its refusal to take the supplier’s position and make an easy sale, and its prioritizing finding the best system, the most suitable solution for our company, and that was why I asked JBS to handle the implementation of Office 365 and support for related security matters.

At present, everything is running stably and without any major problems. I think that being able to take it for granted that we can run it securely and without having to handle operation ourselves has been the biggest effect introducing JBS’s service has had.

We have made increasing use of Lync for its chat functions and so forth, but since we haven’t distributed webcams yet, we can expect to see the real effects of our choice in the future. Our company has offices in Tokyo, Osaka, and Hokkaido, so if we start using the program for more of our work, I think it will reduce travel expenses and help to increase communication activity between offices.

We requested JBS’s solutions for both Office 365 individual account usage restrictions and mailbox transfer. We were unable to actually discuss the details of a way to fulfill our security prerequisites, but at first we were told that we would need to implement tools, In the end, though, we were given a proposal that allowed us to accomplish the same goals without any tools, which was very helpful.

In regards to transferring mailboxes, partway through the project we added the ability to transfer schedules, which is not possible in the IMAP transfer tool, to our list of requirements, but JBS suggested that we use APPRESSO K.K.’s PIMSYNC as needed, so we were able to finish on schedule without a day lost.

We had heard that JBS had an impressive history of constructing systems using SharePoint. Our company wants to keep up with Microsoft’s product lineup and services, especially Office 365, and JBS has an exhaustive knowledge of Microsoft products, and I know that the sense of security we always get from our meetings together will prove to be an important advantage for future system operation/construction. We know that JBS will continue to provide the same support and advice in the future.